Zambia, one year on....
on A Zambian Experience (Zambia), 10/Oct/2010 13:43, 34 days ago
12 months ago today I touched down in Zambia for the first time. It’s been an epic adventure with some ups and downs and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t swap this experience for anything else.I never would have imagined that I would be climbing African mountains, learning the local language, meeting presidents and chiefs, killing spiders and rats (by myself..ouch!), delivering training workshops to village headmen, cycling with live chickens on my back and eating nshima and caterpillars under the stars– thanks to the power cuts!I even shudder at some of the near misses that I’ve had over the last year, like the time when I was nearly arrested by a fake armed policeman for ‘loitering’ and the time when I got lost in the bush just before sunset, whilst having to wade myself through a river to get back onto the right track. However despite the scrapes, I have managed to keep smiling, thanks to the hospitable Zambians who in their own way have made me laugh throughout my time here.Yes, there are frustrations:1. Zambian Time. When a Zambian says they will meet you at 09.00 hours, they actually mean 12.00 hours. I still can’t get used to this. Why am I still always waiting for people?2. Power cuts (which always happen when you are just about to cook or make a cup of tea)3. Long queues at the bank (when all you want to do is check your balance)4. Slow internet (reasons ranging from a‘lack of optic fibres’, or too much bad weather in Europe)5. Cockroaches (why do they seem to multiply when you kill them?)6. Sleeping under a mosquito net (they never make the nets big enough)7. Pot holes8. FuneralsHowever, the list of great things is definitely longer, but here are some of my highlights1. Constant sunshine. It’s nice to wake up to 30 degrees, even in January2. Greeting people on the street (some who I’ve never met before, but somehow they know who I am?)3. The sound of crickets at night4. Monkeys5. Being a guest in people’s homes6. The African Sunset7. Having no plans but constantly being busy and amused8. The African landscape9. Elephants10. African music11. Lying in the hammock12. Eating mangoes, bananas and oranges straight from the tree13. The Zambian sense of humour